IN BRIEF (Page 6)

Yuan firms up against dollar

The Chinese currency, the renminbi or the yuan, continued to strengthen against the greenback on Friday due to a weak US dollar and improved confidence in the Chinese economy. The yuan's central parity rate appreciated 160 basis points to 6.2885 against the dollar, the strongest in around two years and a half, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. The currency also surged in onshore and offshore markets. Analysts attributed the strong performance to slips in the US dollar. The dollar index, a gauge that measures the US currency's strength against six other major currencies, has declined over 5 percent since December.

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